Infant&#39;s exerciser



April 2, 1935. H. w. SCHAFF f INFANTS EXERCISER Filed. April 18, 1934 Patentecl'Apr. 2, 1935 v U I E T- I 1 My invention relates to devices designed: t6 provide pastime and exercise for infants, :and my main object is to devise a riding device operable in the direction of a back stop; the infant "lying 6- on the riding device and having its Ilimbs'. ex-

ercised by contact with the backstop. E

A further object of the invention is to design the novel device with a carriage'th'at moves-on;

rollers towardand from the back stop, the rollers 10 being free to ease the motion of the carriage;

A still further object of the inventionis to sup-i port the carriage on a base which'is inclined in the direction of the back stop, .in order that the carriage may returnthe occupantin proxi- 151 mity'to the latter by gravity after each'ride in the outward direction. I v. 1 x- Another object of the invention is to provide a foot platform immediatelyunder the carriage of the device, in order that the feet'of the occupant may alwaysvfind an ample, convenient and safe surface for that purpose; t An additional object of the invention is" to design the back rest with yielding features such as acushion pad and a spring back for purposes of comfort and safety.. I q

A significant object of" the invention "is to place the base and carriage of the device atthe lowest possible levels over the floor or-other surface on-whichthe device is placed inorderthat 30; the infantvmay not suffer afall or injury in case'he leans or crawls out of the carriage. I With the above objects in view and any others that may suggest themselves from the specification and claims-to-follow, a betteriunderstanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in whichp i j t Fig. 1 is a perspectivewiew of the device with the carriage in forward position; i I V V Fig. 215 alongitudinal section of the same;v Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3'3 of 2; v Fig. 4 is an endview from the right hand side ofFig.2;and v I I Fig. 5 is a plan view of a roller bearing frame] It is a familiar fact that'infants acquire at a very early time the habit of extending and gathering their limbs either by natural impulse orin a playful'mood. This characteristic isin'a'sense 7 an exercise .for the limbs and the body, and the r fact that'it is'sonaturally'assumed by the infant has prompted me to devise the presentinvention, creating a co-operative means which improves the exercise and absorbsthe; attention of the infant as a pastime or toy. 'In' fact, I have n foundby'the actual use of the invention over a "At,. a, slight tactwithxthe back stop III. In the natural effort 1 period -of timethat the infant becomes trained,

so tot speak, in theactionand use of the device.. I In';carrying out the invention, I'first provide a .WOOd-izibflSB l0,1resting.oneend thereofintended. as the vfront:-end-on the .fioor, rug, or

other object on which the device is supported, 7

andr havin'ggits rear end r aised by means of a pair of feetstl; Theseare threaded upon screws l2 passedtdownwardly through the board, and are'rotatable to adjust the height of the rear end of thefboardv Set screws l3 are provided to'fix the adjustment of the feet at any desired distance over the baseboardlfl is positioned the carriage. M in which theinfant is: laid. This. carriage; is; preferably padded as indicated at Ma and madewith padded sides Mb,

outwardly flared to. make for comfort. in. case. the

infantimoves to :one. side. The structure is so I low that theginfant will" suffer no'fall or injury in case heshould lean or. crawl out of the carers l5. .These.,rollers. are interconnected by a Wireframe l6, butfare otherwise free in relation to thegcarriageandithe base, so'thatthe base and carriage will roll with'perfect ease in either forward or rearward direction; It is intended that the iinfant cause the carriage to recede, whereupon the incline of the'base will procure the? forward'retu'rn .ofthe. carriage by 'gravity,

It willabe appreciated that the *use .of free-run ning rollers is far more: desirable than that-of r wheels provided either for the carriage or for the.base;;as no'bearin'gs or axles are involvedto cause. friction;v and the carriage can roll much further durin'ga'agiven number of turns of the rollers thanduring the samenumber of turns of the. wheels: Theresult isa carriage which can be made-to run with very little effort.

I Inorder that. the carriage may not depart from the base byimovements of the occupant or when carried from place to pla'cefI have providedpairs of hangers? IT: at the front and near the rear, these being secured by screws IIct or other suit- 7 ablehl'neans to 'thecarriage and havinginward' bends operating 'in side grooves lllb cut inthe base H).

Fig.2sh'ows by'finely dotted lines the position 5 ottheinfant when'the carriage is at the forward end of its travel, and-it will be'seen that at such 1 time .the infants feet aregathered and in conto stretch his:limbs,. thetinfant willcause the suitable material. at I80 to a cleat 22 carried bythe base.'l0,lso

carriage to recede to the extent denoted by long dotted lines in Fig. 2, during which time a platform l9 serves immediately under the carriage as a wide rest and safety rest in case the infants feet drag. The platform is simply a flat pad of yielding material and covered with leatherette or other suitable covering, and is supported by cross pieces lllc. The base In is cut out'in the center toward the front in order to save weight, and the cross pieces l 0c are of light material and span the opening in the base at sufliciently spaced intervals to form an ample support for the platform I9. It will be appreciated that the uninter rupted platform from the site of the back stop l8 as far back as the carriage can go and even further, serves as a handy rest to prevent the feet of the infant from becoming caught in any part of the structure, and therefore makes the device safe at all times. The limits of travel of the carriageare controlled by a bumper block 20 undereach side of -the carriage, the-bumpers being secured to the base II and having rubber ends zocatthe front and rear for impact with stops 2| depending from the front and rear portionsof the carriage.

Fig. 1 shows one of the rear stops in contact with a bumper on the rear side as an indication that the carriage has reached its forward travel limits. E Relative to the back stop l8, theis'ame is preferably a light wood board padded on the front side with a thick layer of sponge rubber IBa and covered. bya facing 18b of leatherette orother 'Ihe backstop ll is hinged as to be foldable forwardly upon the platform I! or-the carriage l4 for compactness when the device is carried or stored away. While the feet of the infant may find the back stop'sumciently yieldable for comfort and safety, I prefer to add a sponge rubber cross member 23 on the front side of the backstop, securing the cross member by end straps 24 which fasten with glove clasp. devices 24a to the'sides of the back stop,

as shown in Fig; l. The cross member 23 is also covered with suitable material 2311 and is intended to receive the arches of the infants'feet for extra comfort, the height of the cross member being suitable to that at which the feet would most frequently contact. However, I have proided a verticalseries of glove .clasp receptacles 24b in the side of the'back stop in order that the height of. the-member 23 maybe changed as desired or found most convenient.

In order to render the back stop even more yieldable, I have. provided a spring supplement therefor in the form of a pair of leaf springs 25 occurring at laterally spaced points behind the back stop. The upper portions of the springs carry sponge rubber pads 26 incontact with the back stop; and the lower vportions'of the springs are pivoted at 25a to the vertical portions of brackets 21' which carry sponge rubber pads 28 in contact with the cleat 22. The brackets have horizontal bottom. bends 210" secured by screws or other suitable means to. the under side of the base 16. Thelatter 81801183 rearward'pins 29 passing through perforations in the cleat 22, whereby to make the latter movable freely between the end of the base and the bracket portion 21 with the pins "as guides'thereby providing 'a yieldable mounting for the back stop It,

It'will be seen that impact against the back stop [8 will be transferred through the cushion pads 25 to the springs, the latter flexing rearwardly to take up the shock. Also, by reason of the hinges I80 the cleat 22 will be drawn rearwardly to some extent but will be cushioned by the pads 28. Thus, the padded back stop, the arch receiving member, and the rear pad and spring assembly combine to cushion the impact and soften the contact of the infant's feet with the back stop to a sufficient degree for the comfort and safety of the most delicate child.

The springs 25 carry tapes 30 at their upper ends with glove clasps 3ila to fasten them upon the back stop H3, in order to maintain the springs in proper working position. However, when the .back stop is to be folded, the clasps at 30a are uncoupled, permitting the springs to be folded upon each other by swinging them on their pivots as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, this contributing to the compactness of the device when it is not in use.

. It will be seen that I have provided a device which serves both as an exerciser and as a pastime and toy for the infant. The device is built neatly, and has no parts or mechanisms which may causeinju'ry to the infant or to the person handling the article, when it is to be set up or taken away. At the same time, the carriage is so-low that safetyfrom injury by a fall is assured. Further, the device is made up of parts which are light and simple in construction, making it inexpensive to produce and useful over a long period. Finally, the front ends of the grooves Illar'ise gradually to the surface of the base, as shown, to prevent possible injury to the occupants-toes incase one or the other of these should reach into a groove as the. carriage moves forward.

'I claim:- 1 1. An infant's exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable'thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, the carriage and base having registering grooves in the direction of travel, and free rollers disposed in the grooves for the rolling support of the carriage.

2.--An infants exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, the carriage and base having registering grooves in the direction of travel, free rollers disposed in the grooves for the rolling support of the carriage, the rollers beingin' longitudinally-spaced sets, and means carried by them to maintain them in such spaced relation.

3; An infants" exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, the carriage and base having registering grooves in the. direction of travel, free rollers disposed in the grooves for the rolling support of the carriage, and a rod frame carrying the rollers and maintaining-them inispaced relation. I v

4. An'infants exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, the base being formed with aterminal opening in, the portion adjacent the back stop and extending toward'the opposite end of the base, transverse spacers bridging said opening, and a stationary cushion platform supported on said spacers at a height immediately under the carriage.

5. An infants exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, feet supporting the rear end of the base at an incline towad the back Stop, and screws along which the feet are adjust able to change the height of the rear end of the base and so vary the angle of its inclination.

6. An infants exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, the backstop comprising a substantially vertical board, a cushion padding on the frontal side thereof, a support carried by the base, and a hinged connection between the back stop and the support.

7. An infants exerciser comprising a base, a

carriage movable thereon, a back stop oppositeone end of the carriage, brackets carried by the' base and rearwardly thereof, and springs carried by the brackets to resist the rearward motion of the back stop, the springs being pivoted to the 1 brackets and foldable upon each other for compactness.

9. An infants exerciser comprising a base, a carriage adapted to travel over the base and upon which the infant is laid, a backstop opposite the infants feet, and a cushioned cross member carried by the back stop at a height suitable for the arches of said feet.

10. An infant's exerciser comprising a base, a carriage movable thereon, a back stop opposite one end of the carriage, and spring means carried by the base and engaging the back stop to resist rearward movement thereof.

11. An infants exerciser comprising a base member, a carriage movable longitudinally thereon, and a back stop hingedly secured tosaid base adjacent one end thereof and foldable over said base when not in use.

12. An infants exerciser comprising a base member, a carriage movable longitudinally thereon, and a. yieldable upstanding backstop mounted on said base adjacent one end thereof.

13. An infant's exerciser comprising a 1 base member, a carriage movable longitudinally there on, a back stop adjacent one end of said base, and a yieldable connection between said back stop and said base.

14. An infants exerciser comprising an inclined base member, a carriage movable thereon, an upstanding back stop adjacent the lower end ofsaid base, and spring means carried by said base in engagement with said stop providing a yielding resistance to rearward movement thereof.

15. An. infants exerciser comprising an inclined base member, a carriage movable thereon, a yieldable cleatmounted on said base adjacent the lower end thereof, and a back stop carried by said cleat.

, 16. A device according to claim 15, and spring means carried by said base and engaging the rear side of said back stop to provide a resilient support therefor.

fant in prone position and movable back and forth on said base, a yieldable back stop mount- "ed on said base adjacent the lower endthereof for engagement by the feet of an infant lying on said carriage, and cushion means mounted on said base and extending from adjacent said back stop toward the upper end of said base in a position to be uncovered by movement of said carriage away from said back stop.

HOWARD W. SCI-IAFF. 

